T: Close your eyes. We are going on a trip. Imagine
that you are in Africa. What do you see? (Write the students
responses on the board).

T: How many of you have seen "The Lion King?" That movie
takes place on an African savannah. A savannah is an area
where there are tall grasses, few trees, and lots of
wildlife. (Show pictures of the savannah).

T: Let me show you how much of Africa is a savannah.
(Teacher shows the map of the biomes of Africa and points
out that the areas that are shaded a certain color are where
the savannahs are).

2. Discuss animals that live on a savannah.

T: The animals that live on savannahs are different
than the kind of animals that we have here. What kind of
animals do you think live on a savannah? (Write the students
responses on the board. Place pictures of animals up as they
are mentioned. Some examples are: the lion, giraffe,
elephant, rhinoceros, cheetah, vulture, and zebra.)

T: You don't find these animals anywhere else in the
world because they can only live in savannahs. They have
adapted to their climate and they all have things in common.
(For example, they don't need a lot of water, they use a lot
of land and roam all over, and the color of their skin is
camouflaged to the landscape. Write the students responses
on the board as they think of more).

3. Discuss plants that live on a savannah.

T: The plants that live on savannahs are different
than the kind of plants that we have here. What kind of
plants do you think live on a savannah? (Write the students
responses on the board. Place pictures of plants up as they
are mentioned. Some examples are: tall grasses, trees, and
small grasses).

T: You don't find these plants anywhere else in the world
because they can only live in savannahs. They have adapted
to their climate and they all have things in common. (For
example, they don't need a lot of water, they can withstand
the heat, etc. Write the students responses on the board as
they think of more).

4. Discuss what people who live on the savannah do for a
living.

T: Do people live on the savannahs? (Yes.)

T: What do you think that they do for a living? (They are
farmers and herders).

T: People who live on the savannah are farmers and
herders. Like the plants and animals that live there, they
have adapted their way of living so that they can live there
too. The ground there is difficult to grow on because there
are little nutrients in the soil. So, the farmers cut down
trees and burn them to fertilize the ground. The herders use
animals as their way of life. Herders use fertilizer to get
more plants to grow for their animals to eat.

5. Create a new animal.

T: Now that you know what kind of animal lives on
the savannah, I want you to make a new animal. I want this
animal to be able to live on the savannah. It should have
the characteristics discussed. I want you to name your
animal and write a description about what it looks like,
where it lives, what it eats, and how it avoids
predators/catches prey.

T: I also want you to create a picture of your animal.
You can use whatever materials that you would like to show
us what it looks like. Be creative! (Place the various art
materials out where all of the students can access
them).

When the students are finished, hang up the pictures with
the description below it.

Evaluation:

Did the students create and describe an animal that
would be able to live on a savannah following the
characteristics listed in class?